Ah, Youth!
by Midnight's Violet Haze
Summary: A compiliation of oneshots of our favourite Konoha 12, with occasional appearances by the Sand Trio, from their younger years. Ah, there's nothing like the good old, youthful days! Warning: Mostly pointless fluff/waff- Chapter 8 featuring Ino Yamanaka
1. First Meeting

**Hehe, this is a really pointless story, but cute none-the-less. I really don't have anything more to say on the subject, so enjoy ^_^**

**I just ADORE team8 fluff :)))**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is.....not mine :'( tear**

* * *

First Meeting

*Knock* *Knock*

The sound of knuckles slamming against wood filled the kindergarten classroom.

Yuhi Kurenai looked up from beside a student's desk, face splashed with finger paint and hair in disarray, "Come in."

The door shot open and a gruff looking man stood in the doorway, filling it up with his bulky form.

"Hai, Principle-sama?"

"Kurenai-san, you have a new student," he bit out roughly, but not meanly.

Kurenai's eyes swept around the doorway and noted that there was no other person there. She shot the principle a confused look.

The principle huffed and, it appeared, started speaking to his back.

"Come on now, introduce yourself."

And then most surprisingly, he reached behind himself and dragged out a frightened looking girl.

She had the shortest indigo locks and the strangest lavender eyes. On top of that she was poking her two index fingers together, head bowed and coloured a bright red, making her just about the most adorable thing in the world.

"W-Watashi w-a-a H-Hyuuga H-Hinata d-desu."

Forget the 'just about', this stuttering china doll-like girl was the cutest thing Kurenai had ever laid eyes on.

And for the first time in her many years of teaching little children, Kurenai felt her maternal instincts kick in.

She swept the young child into a tender hug and cooed softly and reassuringly, "Don't be so nervous Hinata-chan. My name is Yuhi Kurenai and I know we are going to have lots of fun together."

When she looked back at the girl she saw the most beautiful thing she had ever and would ever see.

Little Hinata squeezed her back, a bright smile lighting her face, cheeks still tinged with a touch of pink.

"H-hai, K-kurenai-s-sensei."

Releasing the small child, Kurenai guided her to an empty seat at one of the numerous groups of bunched up desks and quickly supplied her with paper and paint before rushing off to put an end to yet another paint war.

Hinata shyly reached for the purple paint, dipping her fingers in with elegance that only an heiress could possess. She then started making cautious marks onto the previously blank paper, hoping to create something that would impress even her father. Alas, her careful strokes were in vain as a curious rubbing sensation made her jump in her seat and jerk her fingers off the page, resulting in a crude blotch of purple.

She glanced down nervously at her leg and was met with the unbelievable sight of a furry, white puppy rubbing, sniffing and licking her small leg. Suddenly small, but larger than her own, hands scooped up the dog, who whined at being separated from her limb.

"Heh, heh, sorry about that! It looks like Akamaru really likes you!" The hands were connected to a grinning boy with disheveled brown hair and strange red triangles over both cheeks. "My name's Inuzuka Kiba and this is Inuzuka Akamaru!" he said, pointing at each of them in turn. "Who're you?"

Heat rose to Hinata's cheeks. The question had caught her off guard, seeing as she assumed no one would be interested enough in her to want to know who she was. Somehow, she managed to stutter out, "H-Hyuuga H-Hinata d-desu-u."

"Nice to meet ya, Hinata-chan! Wanna come over to my table? This one sucks; the people in this group are boring! There's an empty seat between me and this weird kid Shino." Even as he said this, Kiba was already dragging the confused girl to his desk. He then plopped her into a seat and sat down himself.

Hinata breathed in a bit, trying to figure out what had just happened. She wondered briefly if she should ask Kiba, but dismissed the idea when she saw how focused he was on his own painting. If you could call randomly slapping and pouring paint on to his paper, getting most of it on himself, focused…

Slight movement to her right caught her attention and she turned her head to investigate. There was a pale boy with an overly large coat that hid the lower half of his face and a pair of large black sunglasses on, sitting beside her, silently running his fingers along his 'canvas'. Curiosity overcame her and Hinata leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse of his painting.

She saw a brilliant blue blob, though that hardly seemed like the right word for it as it was actually quite pretty, whatever 'it' was.

"It's a Blue Morpho. They live in forests, usually, but they enjoy coming out to be in the sun."

Hinata pulled back, startled and raised her eyes to view the quiet boy. He continued painting looking as though he hasn't said a word at all. Trying to make up for her rude, prying act, though she honestly meant it, Hinata told him bashfully, "I-It's v-very kawai-ii."

The boy simply nodded. He might have smiled, but you couldn't tell under the large jacket. Unfazed by his lack of reaction, Hinata smiled. She felt very at ease with the boy, since he didn't speak much and he didn't look at her- well she didn't think so, but she couldn't be sure of what was going on behind those sunglasses.

The boy turned to face her, and though Hinata flushed at the attention, it wasn't too bad when she couldn't see his eyes. "Aburame Shino," he introduced himself.

"H-Hyuuga Hinata."

They might have shaken hands, even though his were stained with paint, or something to that effect in order to make their greeting official, but they were interrupted by a large yell.

"OI, SHINO! DON'T BUG HINATA-CHAN! SHE'S **MY** NEW FRIEND, NOT YOURS!"

Shino slid his sunglasses further up his nose, them having been on the verge of – gasp! – revealing his eyes, miraculously not getting any paint on the smooth, black glass. "I believe that whomever she interacts with is up to Hinata-chan."

The endearment on her name sounded strange out of his mouth, but somewhat pleasant, at least to Hinata.

Her eyes darted worryingly between the two as they continued to argue, bringing up other petty things. Yet somehow, despite the fight going on over her head, Hinata couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging flood over her.

* * *

**Did anyone catch that 'Bug' thing? That always makes me smile a bit, I can't help but slip in cheesy little jokes :). I am in a good mood today!**

**Thank you for reading this far and please review!**

**With lots of good cheer, **

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


	2. The Habit

**Sorry for the wait, I meant to post it last week, but I kinda...forgot -_-'. It's not even an excuse, I really did just forget..heh heh.**

**Anyways, I feel as though I've cheated since this isn't completely set when the Konoha kids (hah, cheesy title!) were little and it includes gennin times, which wasn't supposed to be a part of this collection. I seriously considered posting this as a random oneshot and not part of 'Ah, Youth!', but in the end I decided to use it for it's original purposes.**

**Hope you enjoy it and please don't mind my shameless shipping (another cheesy alliteration.. _), I can't help it! Hina-chan is just too cute to resist pairing her with anyone wearing a ninja headband.**

**Disclaimer: You know that famous anime and manga called 'Naruto'? Yeah, that's not mine..**

* * *

The Habit

_A 7 year old Sasuke glanced to the side as his seatmate (according to Iruka's new seating plan) sat down. _

"_I hope you will all work better with these new seats! I hate having to separate you from your friends, but if that's what it takes…" Iruka droned apologetically from the front of the class._

_As a nervous Hyuuga Hinata sat down beside him, Sasuke's chibi-eyes swept over her entire being, observing. His inquiring gaze landing on her indigo locks, Sasuke felt his hand twitch._

"…_These are called kunai! They're very sharp so-"_

"_I-Itai"_

"_Who said that?" Iruka ordered, looking around for the culprit. Catching sight of a furiously flushed Hinata, he softened his tone to deal with the shy heiress, "Hinata-chan, is something wrong?"_

_Blushing harder, the girl shook her head quickly, "I-Iie, Iruka-sensei."_

_Iruka frowned suspiciously, but shrugged it off. "Now, as I was saying…"_

_Meanwhile, Uchiha Sasuke smirked triumphantly at Hinata's red face. Seeing the sunlight glint off of her silky tendrils, he felt his hand twitch again. Waiting a few minutes and taking a cursory glance around the room for safety's sake, he couldn't resist._

"_So now I'll pass around a few kunai and-"_

"_I-ITAI!"_

"_Hinata-chan?" Iruka asked again, noticing her reddened features again._

"_N-Nothing!" she cried out, shrilly._

_Frowning, Iruka only nodded to save the little heiress from embarrassment._

_The young girl beside him was now shaking with what seemed like fear, making something in Sasuke's chest tug a little bit. Still, seeing the soft strands sway with her fear-inspired motion was just too tempting and this time, Sasuke through caution to the wind and went for it._

"_ITAI!"_

"_SASUKE-CHAN!" Iruka yelled, having been keeping an eye on scenario, hoping to find out the cause of Hinata's trouble. "PULLING HINATA-CHAN'S HAIR IS VERY MEAN! YOU SHOULDN'T DO THAT"_

_Chibi-Sasuke pouted, 'Shoot, caught.' "Yes Iruka-sensei," Sasuke called out with innocent eyes, but a hidden smirk._

"_ITAI!"_

"_SASUKE!"_

"_ITAI!"_

"_SASUKE!"_

"_ITAI!"_

"_THAT'S IT! UCHIHA SASUKE, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!"_

"_Knock, knock," called an amused voice from the open door._

_Whirling around, Iruka sighed. "Kakashi, what are you doing here?"_

_Smiling his little 'u' smile, Kakashi said, "Just dropping by to see my favourite academy teacher! What seems to be the problem?"_

"_A certain little UCHIHA can't seem to keep his hands off of poor Hinata-chan's hair," Iruka explained, glaring at said Uchiha._

"_Hm, I think I have an idea…" Kakashi sang out cheerfully, pulling out a piece of rope._

* * *

"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan!"

"Nani!"

"Have you ever noticed that when he sits down, Sasuke-teme always fold his hands really tight together?"

"Huh? Come to think of it, you're right Naruto! He's been that way for as long as I can remember."

"I wonder why though?"

"Who knows? Must be a childhood habit…"

Sitting a ways away from his teammates, Sasuke clenched his hands tightly as he recalled, in detail, the horrible things that Kakashi could do with a single piece of rope.

* * *

**But seriously, hasn't anyone ever noticed Sasuke does that hand-claspy thing? It's kind weird, like sit like a normal person for god's sake, you don't always have to have a 'pose'! **

**Though it does kinda make him look cool... _**

**Just a little bit of fun, I hope I made you crack a smile (that's probably the best I could do since I suck at humor..)**

**Leave me a nice review? Pretty please?**

**Keep enjoying your summer, Ladies and Gents**

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


	3. Freedom, huh?

**Here's another one. I'm hoping to make Monday my upload day, but I might have to veer off schedule so soon after setting a schedule in the first place, since I _might _be going to a friend's cottage for the next week and then some. Either way, I can only hope that I'll stick to this updating-on-Monday's thing once it gets going, but I'm not making any promises!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Freedom, huh?

"Ne, ne, l-look Neji-nii-chan!" a young Hinata tugged on the sleeve of her older cousin's yukata. The two children were out exploring the yards and yards of Hyuuga land, determined to map out every inch of the property.

"Nani?" Neji questioned before reluctantly tearing his gaze away from his cousin's face to follow the point of her outstretched arm.

"T-There!" Hinata said, "That's Birdy-chan, he s-sings to me every m-morning when I wake up! Isn't he c-cute?" She kept her eyes on the small, lone bird some feet away from them.

Raising his brows like he saw his father do sometimes, Neji asked sceptically, "Are you sure it's the same bird? They all look the same; it could be a different one."

Hinata shook her head, "Nope, that's d-d-definitely him. I only see if o-once a day, but I know he's got six little spots on his belly, s-see?" Neji saw. Even without the Byakuugan, Hyuuga eyes were more observant than most.

Taking a step forward, Neji made towards the bird, only to be stopped by another tug on his yukata sleeve. "Ne, don't b-b-bother him, Neji-nii-chan. I wish I s-saw Birdy-chan more, but let him have f-fun out here, ne?" Hinata said, cutely.

Opening his mouth, Neji completely forgot what he was about to say when he felt little Hinata's hand leave his sleeve, only to slip into his own hand.

Smiling down at her, Neji squeezed her hand and followed her as she began to lead the way on their trek, only casting one last curious glance back at the bird.

--

Hearing a familiar chirping tune, Hinatasmiled before snuggling into her pillow. Again, she heard the tune, but it seemed closer than before. Turning around, she burrowed father into the blanket. Once more, she heard the tune, but this time it was directly in her ear.

"Aaah!" Hinata cried, when her newly-opened eyes were met with a blurry, squawking thing. Scooting backwards, Hinata rubbed her bleary eyes, before opening them again.

"N-Neji-nii-chan!" She sat up, staring wonderingly at her cousin, "W-What a-are y-you d-d-doing h-here?"

"I brought you a present," he said with a smile, holding up his arm and bringing her attention to a silver cage. Carefully placing the cage on her lap, he beamed at her, "It's your bird! Now you can see him whenever you want."

Hinata gasped, staring down at her lap before reaching over to pull her cousin into a warm hug, "A-Arigatou, Neji-nii-chan!"

Neji blushed lightly, a giddy grin staying on his face, long after Hinata released him. Shaking his head, he looked back at his cousin who, by now, was cooing lightly at the bird.

Smiling through the cage at her 'Birdy-chan', Hinata giggled when the bird chirped back happily. Turning to the window beside her bed, she placed the cage onto the windowsill before looking out to the bright sky and the acres of green grass. Thin brows furrowed, Hinata looked back and forth between the cage and the window.

Neji was confused at his cousin's strange behaviour. "Hinata-chan?" he called out, questioningly.

"Isn't it s-sad, Neji-nii-chan?" Hinata asked, her eyes unfocussed. Before Neji could answer, Hinata continued, "Isn't it sad t-that Birdy-chan w-won't be able to go o-out and have fun a-anymore?"

Studying the bird as it sang merrily still, Neji said, "He looks perfectly happy where he is, Hinata-chan."

Hinata looked him in the eyes, very serious, "But I w-want him to be able t-to go w-wherever he wants, he c-can't be happy t-t-trapped like this!"

Nejiwatched the bird hop around the cage, still chirping a happy tune. He wasn't convinced. "I don't –"

Hinata hopped off the bed and took a hold of his hand, effectively shutting him up. Grabbing the cage in her free hand, she raced out to the courtyard, Neji following, too entranced by their clasped hands to ask questions.

Once there, Hinata let him go so that she could twirl around and enjoy the morning breeze. Neji only frowned a little before going to her side. "Why are we out here?" he asked lightly.

Shooting him a smile, Hinata kneeled down, placing the cage on the ground. "To s-set Birdy-chan f-free," she said, opening the cage. She blinked, when the bird didn't immediately rush out the opening. "Ne, ne, w-what are y-you doing, Birdy-chan?"

The bird chirped in reply, flapping its wings a bit, but staying put.

"Don't you want to be free?"

The bird ruffled its feathers.

Neji watched this strange conversation with curious eyes.

"Go on, Birdy-chan, p-please go. You can f-fly anywhere you want a-and you won't have to be s-s-stuck here. You'll b-be free!" Hinata said, rattling the cage a little, but still the bird stayed put.

"Hinata-chan, maybe you shouldn't…" Neji started, but trailed off at the sight of Hinata's brilliant smile, nearly euphoric at the thought of 'Birdy-chan's' freedom.

Finally, at a particularly rough shake, the bird hopped out of the cage. Feeling triumphant, Hinata readily encouraged the bird. "G-Go on, go fly a-and be h-happy, Birdy-chan," she cheered enthusiastically, making 'shooing' motions with her hands. After much such encouragement the bird finally flew off and Hinata clapped happily.

"S-Sayonara, Birdy-chan!" she said, waving at nothing in particular as the bird had already disappeared from sight. Remembering her cousin, Hinata smiled and took his hand. "Let's g-go eat b-breakfast, ne, Neji-nii-chan?" she said, already heading back inside.

Neji, however, was rooted to the spot. The whole affair had left him deeply unsettled and not even Hinata's touch could shake the sinking feeling in his stomach. His pearl eyes focused on a small bird with six spots decorating its belly that was seated on a windowsill; Hinata's windowsill. Watching as the bird hooted mournfully at the closed window, Neji felt his stomach sink even lower.

"N-Neji-nii-chan?"

Looking up to meet Hinata's concerned gaze, he forced an unconvincing smile and started following her into the compound.

It was with a feeling of déjà vu that he glanced back at the bird.

'_Why couldn't you see, Hinata-chan, that he was perfectly happy in his cage. That freedom wasn't worth it, unless he could be beside you.'_

* * *

**I don't understand why every Neji and Hinata centered piece I write turns out angsty. Maybe they're just doomed to tragedy. As Neji would say, it's their destiny :P.**

**I'm feeling a bit melancholic today as well, so maybe that's why. But I'm still sticking to the destiny/fate theory.**

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


	4. Accident!

**Haa! It's a bit on the late side, but I made my self-proclaimed Monday deadline! Cheers! Drinks all around! :D**

**This one just kinda came unto me. It's weird, but hey, what else can you expect from me? Sorry about yet another attempt at humor! Thought you guys migh appreciate after last time's angst-fest.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Accident!

"Having fun with your doll, Kankuro-_chan_," an 8-year-old Temari greeted snidely as she entered the room.

7-year-old Kankuro growled, jumping to his feet. "It's not a _doll_, it's a puppet!" he yelled defensively.

Temari scoffed, "Psh, yeah right. What's its hidden weapon? You squeeze and it says 'I love you'?"

"I-I..Y-You...O-OF COURSE NOT!" Kankuro spluttered, hiding the doll – cough – _puppet _in question behind his back.

He accidentally squeezed it.

"I WUV YOU!"

…

Young Temari stared at her brother and, for once, there was no trace of mocking present on her face. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out an unopened tube of multi-purpose lipstick and held it out. "I think you'll need this more than me," she told him seriously.

Kankuro took it, examining it curiously, "It's purple."

"Dad gave it to me," Temari shrugged, "It's not like he knows what he's doing…or cares."

Kankuro nodded sadly.

Silence followed for the next few minutes and just as it was threatening to get awkward; it was interrupted by a ruckus in the hallway caused by a sprinting ninja.

Kankuro and Temari exchanged glances, simultaneously heading for the door and peeking out.

"Yashamaru-san," the ninja, a low-leveled one, panted.

Said man turned around in slight surprise, "Yes?"

The ninja coughed awkwardly, "Gaara-sama has made…an _accident_ in his room…"

Yashamaru blinked. Twice. "A-ah. I'll go talk to him," he said, quickly leaving.

Behind the door, Kankuro and Temari looked at each other.

"No way!"

They quickly ran after Yashamaru.

* * *

Kankuro and Temari arrived just in time to see Yashamaru crouch down to their 4-year-old brother's level, both standing outside his open bedroom.

"It's okay, Gaara-chan, it could happen to anyone," said Yashamaru kindly, patting the toddler on his head.

Poor Gaara was practically in tears, "B-But—"

"Now, now," Yashamaru said, "It's not your fault. Everyone has times when such things happen. It'll get over as you grow older."

Gaara only nodded, still sniffling.

As Yashamaru continued to comfort their little brother, Kankuro and Temari cast a curious glance into his bedroom.

"Woooooow," Kankuro whistled.

The entire room was in shambles; the bed broken, the mirrors cracked and the windows shattered. And to top it all off, it was filled with more sand than Kankuro's swimtrunks after a day at the beach (which is a lot).

Temari face-palmed, "Why can't he just wet the bed like a normal kid?"

* * *

**Soo, is it just me or did this story have a depressing undertone? It's supposed to be light, but after I finished writing, I looked at it and thought, "This just makes me sad for some reason.."**

**What do you guys think? Strangley sad? Or did it actually manage to fulfill it's purpose of being vaguely amusing?**

**Please tell me your thoughts and drop a review!**

**Also, any character suggestions of who you want next? Don't be afraid to ask (though I can't promise I'll do it -_-' YOSH! BUT I'LL TRY MY HARDEST! :P).**

**See ya next time, **

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


	5. A Steamin' Bowl O' Kindness

**Siiiigh, a little late again. I mean, it's still Monday, but it's so late in the day..**

**To tell you the truth I had the force this one out. Usually I just type and a story forms, but this one wasn't quite ready to be written. There was a lot of stopping and pausing and frowning and..yeaah.**

**So it's not that good, since it was so difficult to write. Besides, I never really write Naruto (the character).. I don't know why, I mean, I like him well enough in the anime/manga, though he does piss me off a lot. I guess I just don't like him in a writer's sense?**

**Ahh, I'm sorry ahead of time for this crappy chapter. It sounded better in my head. That's probably where it should have stayed -_-' I'll do better next time, promise!**

**Disclaimer: Why do I write one every chapter? Naruto. Is. Not. Mine.**

* * *

A Steamin' Bowl O' Kindness

Small footsteps splashed through the puddles as a small blond boy, no older than seven, ducked into an alley. He leaned against the dingy bricks, panting loudly.

Suddenly, the boy tilted his head to the side, listening. His eyes widened.

Thundering stomps tore through the open street beside him, unsettling the water that flooded the streets from the recent rainfall. The noises stilled around the opening of the alleyway and the boy clamped a hand over his mouth, anxiously trying not to give away his position.

The next few minutes crawled by at a torturous pace until, finally, the steps started up again and the alley was abandoned.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the boy dropped his hands and backed out of the narrow tunnel.

"Oof!"

His small back collided with something only a little softer than the brick wall.

"Heh, so this is where you were hiding." The cruel tone sent shivers down his spine.

The boy spun around to face a large man, with two smaller followers flanking him.

"You little monster! Now that we've found you, we're going to do to you, what you did to Konoha!"

He raised a large fist in air and the little boy could do nothing but shut his eyes and brace himself for the unforgiving contact.

"Oi! What are you three doing? Get out of here!" A new voice entered the field, this one filled with righteous anger.

Rough skin grazed the boys face, before the arms was withdrawn.

"Huh?!"

"A shinobi!"

"Let's get out of here!"

The three civilians fled the scene, their footsteps echoing in the streets.

The boy was crouched down, eyes still closed, when he felt a pressure on his shoulders.

"Wha-!" his blue eyes flew open, meeting a kind brown pair.

"H-How did you do that!" he cried, amazed.

The man in front of him, brown-haired with a scar across his nose, smiled. "I'm a shinobi of the leaf. Ninja are supposed to be silent," he said.

"Sugoi!" the boy drew out the vowel in awe.

The man's smile slipped and he looked at the boy with sad eyes, "You're Naruto-kun, ne?"

The boy, Naruto, nodded, warily.

"Those men…they were chasing you, weren't they?"

Another nod, but then Naruto grinned widely. "It wasn't nothing I couldn't handle!" he said, shrugging, but his eyes didn't match his face.

The man frowned, but then let out a small chuckle, "Is that so? You'd make a pretty good ninja, Naruto-kun."

Looking surprised, Naruto was quick to grin and agree.

Stretching out his arms, the man sighed, "Maa, I've had a long day. What do you say we get something to eat, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto blinked, shocked. "Me?" he asked, pointing a finger at himself in disbelief.

The man nodded and then made for the opening of the alley. Once there, he stopped and turned to face the younger male. "Are you coming?"

"Ah, h-hai!" Naruto cried, running to catch up.

"By the way, my name's Iruka. I'm a teacher at the ninja academy," the man said as they walked down the street.

"Iruka…sensei?" Naruto asked, looking up at the taller man.

Iruka laughed, "I guess you can call me that. So does that mean you'll come to the academy and learn to be a ninja?"

"Hai! I definitely want to become a strong ninja! That'll show those guys!"

Iruka narrowed his eyes at the thought of the men from before. "Ne, why don't we try there?" he said quickly, pointing at a small stand.

"I-chi-ra-ku ra-men…" Naruto read off the banner.

"I could go for some ramen, how about you?" Iruka asked,

"Ano, I've never had any…" said Naruto.

Iruka smiled cheerfully, slipping onto one of the stools, "I'm sure you'll like it!" He laughed lightly as Naruto struggled to climb up the tall seat.

"Two miso ramens here, please," he said to the older man behind the counter.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei," Naruto started, tracing a finger around the counter-top, "Do you really think I could become a ninja too?"

"Sure," Iruka said without skipping a beat. Seeing Naruto look unconvinced, he pursed his lips. "You know, Naruto-kun, when I was around your age, I lost both of my parents…"

Naruto lifted his head fast enough to get whiplash.

"And at that time, I stopped believing in myself too. But then, Hokage-sama talked to me and he helped me find hope again. He's a great man."

Looking down in deep thought, Naruto murmured out loud, "A man that even helped Iruka-sensei…" He turned to Iruka and asked, "Who's the Hokage?"

Iruka looked surprised at the question, "Well, the Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village."

"The strongest…?"

While Naruto was thinking, two steaming bowls were placed on the counter. "Two miso ramens," the old man announced. Iruka thanked him and grabbed two pairs of chopsticks from the bowl.

"Here Naruto-kun."

"A-Aa. Arigato, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, taking a pair.

Two pairs of hands broke two pairs of chopsticks as two voices called out, "Itadakimasu!"

After a few tentative bites, Naruto broke the silence. "Ne, Iruka-sensei, do you think I could become Hokage, someday?"

Iruka blinked and then grinned warmly. Ruffling the boy's blond locks, he said, "Of course, Naruto-kun. You're already so strong. If you work hard and focus, you'll definitely be able to become Hokage!"

Naruto flushed at the confidence Iruka displayed in him. 'What is this warm feeling inside? It's…really nice. I've never felt this way before…' He stirred the noodles around with his chopsticks, looking at them curiously. 'It must be the ramen!'

Shoveling ramen into his mouth with new vigor, Naruto slammed down his chopsticks and slurped down the last of the liquid. Wiping his mouth with a clenched fist, he declared for the first time (but definitely not the last, "Iruka-sensei, I've decided. I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO BE HOKAGE! DATTEBAYO!"

"D-Datte..bayo..?"

"Can I have another bowl, please?!"

Iruka chuckled weakly, still somewhat confused. "Eh? S-Sure, I guess…" he waved over the stand owner.

Naruto beamed as he was given another bowl, quickly lifting his chopsticks up.

'This warm feeling…I'm not sure what it is but…I definitely want it to stay as long as it can!'

* * *

**Did anyone else think of Hagrid when they read the title? ^-^ hehe**

**Please R&R (even though this is horrible*cough*) ^_^'**

**I think the summer heat is getting to me,**

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


	6. Wasting Time

**Okay, so I'm 3 hours past the Monday deadline, but advice from a certain reviewer said that I shouldn't post till the story is ready.**

**I quite like this one though ^___^ **

**Warning: If this story was tea, I just dumped an entire bowl of sugar in it! Beware the toothache!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto, not mine. That tea metaphor though, that's all me :D**

* * *

Wasting Time

A loud rustle roused Shikamaru from his dazed sky-gazing.

"Hm?" he grunted, reluctantly propping himself up to look at the blue-haired intrusion that was quickly entering the clearing.

"A-Ah, s-s-sorry," the seven-year-old girl spluttered out, nervously. "I-I didn't know s-someone w-was already u-using this t-training f-field…"

Shikamaru was surprised to hear no underlying disdain at how exactly this training field was being _used_.

"It's fine…Hinata-sama, is it?" he said, knowing better than to chastise the Hyuuga clan's heiress.

Hinata looked surprised, "H-How d-did y-you know…?"

Shikamaru simply shrugged, choosing not to reveal that despite his lazy demeanor, he _had_ absorbed all information on Konoha's clans, heads and heirs, among other things.

Seeing that she would get no answers, Hinata made the brave decision to continue the conversation by her own means, "Wh-What a-are you d-d-doing, Shikamaru-sama of the Nara clan?"

Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk at how Hinata had included her own knowledge. Also, hers was more impressive than his own, as he had no distinctive traits (read: freaky eyes) to give away his lineage. "Cloud-watching," he told her, relaxing back onto the grassy hill. Discreetly eyeing the Hyuuga heiress as she fidgeted uncomfortably, Shikamaru sighed. "You can join me if you want," he said, graciously.

Hinata stopped fumbling with her fingers to blink confusedly. Finally, she cautiously approached him and awkwardly settled down a good 10 feet away.

The silence that passed between the two young heirs gradually became more comfortable and soon Hinata had adjusted her 'prim' seating to a more relaxed disposition, one arm folded beneath her head and the other atop her stomach.

"Ne, d-do y-you a-always d-do this?" Hinata asked; her honest question coloured with incredulity.

"Yeah, why?" Shikamaru asked, not needing to avert his eyes to his companion as he had already been watching her, rather than the sky, for most of their time together.

Hinata shifted in the grass. Rather than answer the question, she chose to quote the Hyuuga patriarch, "Father says any time not spent training, is wasted time."

Shikamaru frowned, inexplicably _annoyed_ at the Hyuuga head's attitude for the first time. He rolled over onto his side to fully face the girl. "Haven't you ever done anything beside train?" Hinata shook her head.

"Hobbies?"

Another shake

"Free time?"

Another denial.

Shikamaru frowned more severely, running a hand through his slightly messy ponytail. "Well, there's no time like the present," he said, scooting over beside her.

Hinata tensed, but slowly reclined.

"Now," Shikamaru instructed, directing his gaze at the vast sky above them, "Focus on the blue. Flush out all other thoughts and just let go. It's a meditation trick; it's supposed to be relaxing."

Another silence crept over the two, but while Hinata was intent on pleasing Shikamaru by conquering 'meditation', Shikamaru couldn't say the same. He found himself sneaking glances at Hinata for reasons he couldn't begin to comprehend. Not to mention the strange urge to just reach over and grab her hand…

The hand that was subconsciously inching towards Hinata's, quickly recoiled when the other flew up, unexpectedly.

"Look!" Hinata shouted, pointing at the sky, "Doesn't that cloud look like a chicken?"

Shikamaru tried to fight back the blush taking over his cheeks. "A-A chicken?" he asked, "Weren't you supposed to be _meditating_."

At Hinata's sheepish smile, Shikamaru shook his head. "You stopped trying after the first 5 minutes," he concluded.

"Well, at least it's not training," he said. "But_ how_ did you get around to looking for shapes in clouds?" he asked, wonderingly. Sure, he was lazy, but doing something so frivolous was too strange for his purely analytic mind to understand. An (extremely) high IQ didn't count much for creativity.

Hinata copied his laidback shrug, "I-I'm n-not s-sure."

"I'll give it a try," he said, and added for good measure, "And I bet I'll last longer than 5 minutes."

Hinata giggled.

They spent the next few minutes pointing out shapes and, after Hinata had likened her first spotting to the back of a certain Uchiha's hair, they were connecting their findings to other Konoha residents.

"Ne," Hinata frowned, "I haven't seen one that reminds me of Nii-san."

Shikamaru didn't like the expression on her face. "What did you have in mind?" he asked quickly.

"A bird," Hinata said, smiling at an inside joke.

"If I find it for you…" Shikamaru mused, with a thoughtful look, "Will you do something for me?"

"Hai!" Hinata agreed instantly, her trusting mind not even considering that Shikamaru might take advantage of this.

Shikamaru smirked, eyes scanning the sky at lightning speed.

"There!" he exclaimed, just seconds later.

"Where?" Hinata asked excitedly.

"Right there," he said, pointing it out.

Hinata furrowed her brows, "I…can't see it."

Shikamaru overlooked the irony of a byakuugan-user uttering such a phrase in favor of the tempting physical contact he had been yearning for.

He ignored the red in his cheeks and grabbed Hinata's hand carefully, adjusting it in the air.

"Right…there," he breathed softly.

"Oh!" Hinata cried, grinning, eyes trained on the bird-shaped cloud.

"Yeah," Shikamaru exhaled, eyes focused on their joined hands, blood rushing to his cheeks once again.

When Hinata tugged her hand out of his and returned it to her stomach, Shikamaru frowned, but then smirked.

"So how about that favor?" he asked, sitting up.

"Sure," Hinata grinned, following his example.

He rolled up his pant leg to reveal a bruised knee. Meeting Hinata's curious eyes, he explained, "Mother always kisses my bruises better, but I could do without _another_ 5 hour lecture."

High IQ or not, he was still a kid.

Hinata's eyes flew open and her cheeks flushed with colour, "K-K-K-K"

"Kiss it better," Shikamaru interjected 'helpfully'.

"K-K-K-K--!" Hinata gave up, choosing to take deep breaths instead. She tried to cool down her cheeks. After a few seconds of thought, she asked, "Do mothers usually do that?"

"Yeah, probably," Shikamaru said, and then grimaced. "Oh, Sorry! I forgot that your Mom…" He was shocked. It was the first time his genius mind had made such a huge slip up. What was it about this girl that numbed his mind?

"It's okay," Hinata assured, stopping his panic with a hand on his shoulder.

"A d-deal's a-a d-deal," she said, gently tracing a finger on the mean-looking bruise. "H-How d-did y-you g-get s-so h-h-hurt?"

"I _was_ training, you know. At first," he said, grinning over at her.

Hinata blushed.

Bending over, she placed a careful kiss in the centre of his knee. Quickly, she sat up and looked away, fiddling with his finger.

Shikamaru did much the same…until he caught himself fumbling his thumbs.

Straightening his spine, he cleared his throat loudly. "Thank you, Hinata…_chan_."

Hinata smiled shyly back, "Y-You're w-welcome…Shikamaru-_kun_."

Glancing at the low sun, Hinata shot up. "Oh! I-I h-have t-to g-get h-home!" she cried, stumbling down the hill.

Stopping at the bottom, she turned back to the slightly disappointed male. "Thank you f-for t-teaching m-me h-how t-to d-do o-other stuff…than t-training I-I m-mean. A-Are y-you g-going home y-yet?"

"Nah," he sighed, "I'll probably stay here for a while, though Mom'll be mad."

"Then...do you think you could find me another cloud?" Hinata asked, hopefully.

Shikamaru smiled. "Sure," he agreed, eagerly, "As long as you do me another favor."

"Sure," Hinata copied with a grin.

"So what kind?" he asked.

Hinata smiled, looking at the setting sun. Shikamaru, for reasons that were become clearer to him – thanks to his interfering genius – admired her profile and the play of colours in her clear eyes.

"How about…a flower?" she suggested. Hinata turned and locked gazes with Shikamaru for the first time, stealing his breath completely and wholly, he turned red due to lack of air as much as for…_other reasons_. So maybe Hinata's eyes weren't as freaky as other Hyuuga's.

"Sure," he mumbled, still lost in lavender fields. Shaking out of his stupor, he asked, curiously, "Why flowers though?"

"I-I'm th-thinking of g-getting a h-h-hobby o-of m-my o-o-own," Hinata admitted bashfully, "There's this g-garden a-at the Hy-Hyuuga c-compound th-that I-I've always w-wanted to e-explore."

Shikamaru grinned, "Gardening, huh? It suits you."

They smiled – rather foolishly – at each other for a few minutes, until Shikamaru's meddlesome genius decided to rain on his parade. Reluctantly, he reminded her, "You needed to get home…?"

Hinata started, "O-Oh!" She ran off. At the edge of the clearing she turned back and waved, then took off again.

Shikamaru watched until her form disappeared, then laid back onto the ground, grinning.

He needed to put all of his genius to work in finding that cloud, _quickly_. After all, his next favor would be worth it.

He wanted another kiss, but not on the knee this time!

* * *

**Sorry for missing my deadline though! Forgive me?**

**Feel free to drop a review and tell me how you liked the sugar overload ;D**

**Yours sweetly, **

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


	7. The Ribbon of Friendship

**Long time no see! Hehe, -___-'. **

**I'm sorry *bows*, I've been neglecting this story. I have a variety of reasons, there was this family thing, and then my school books arrived and I had to go get my uniform fixed... There was a lot going on. Plus, to be honest, I think the main reason was because of who the main character of this chapter is. **

**Sakura (insert horror music)**

***Shudder* I really hate this girl. I don't write crapp about her, because it's not very professional behaviour, but OH! how I hate her. So it was pure torture to write this chapter without bad-mouthing her in the story itself. **

**I hope you appreciate this! It was all for you. Since I promised to write ALL Naruto characters. So I got Sakura over with. *Shudder***

**Disclaimer: Naruto ain't mine**

* * *

The Ribbon of Friendship

A bell rang and slowly, but surely children piled out of the Ninja Academy building, getting picked up by parents or older siblings.

Soon, the area was pretty abandoned except for a few stragglers, one of them being a seven year old, pink haired girl.

Tugging lightly on the red ribbon in her hair, Haruno Sakura sighed.

'_It's so loose, it might fall off any second now…maybe I should retie it? But I probably can't do it like Ino-chan can. I'll just wait till I see her tomorrow-'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a harsh breeze. She blinked her eyes closed as stray strands of pink threatened their sensitive green surface.

'_Huh?'_ Flustered hands worried through loose hair noticing a missing feature.

"Ino-chan's ribbon!" Sakura panicked, spinning around trying to catch a glimpse of red satin.

"There!" she exclaimed, hand already stretched in an attempt to grasp an end, but the ribbon eluded her, still surfing a wave of wind.

She chased the tricky ribbon to a bush where it finally got caught on a branch.

As Sakura carefully worked her ribbon free, she saw a figure in the corner of her eye. Looking up she gasped, seeing the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen in her seven years of life. She remembered him as Uchiha Sasuke, the boy that her new friend, Yamanaka Ino had a crush on, along with most other girls her age.

He was training with shuriken, hitting a tree dead centre and Sakura found that the more she watched the more mesmerized she became.

'_He's amazing! Maybe I could talk to him before he leaves...j-just to ask for some training tips, of course. I could even mention Ino-chan…'_

Somehow the more she thought about it, the more excited Sakura became. She imagined that he'd be really cool and that after one conversation they'd become best friends. No girls would make fun of her then, because if _Sasuke_ liked her, then she _must_ be cool too, after all, surely _Sasuke_ wouldn't hang out with an ugly, loser. Maybe he'd even...

'_N-No, I mustn't think that! Ino-chan likes him. And he'd probably like her better than me. But she hasn't talked to him before…'_

Suddenly the prospect of talking to him seemed even more irresistible.

But then he stopped his (_'graceful, just so graceful'_) movements and started to clean up his equipment.

Sakura bit her lip and turned back to her precious ribbon, still dreadfully entangled in the (_'evil!'_) bush. She turned again, seeing Sasuke tucking the last of his shuriken in his pack.

Furrowing her brows, Sakura made a decision. She pulled harshly, wanting to get over to Sasuke quickly.

The ribbon snapped.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was working his seven-year-old butt off. He kind of had to, if he ever wanted to best his super-cool older brother, who–judging by the position of the sun–would be there any second to pick him up from the Ninja Academy.

(Please, _Uchiha_Sasuke definitely didn't need a _watch_ to tell time. He's a genius like that.)

He pouted at the shuriken embedded in the tree trunk. _'I bet Aniki could do better than that…'_

Grumpily, he cleaned up all of his equipment and zipped up his pouch. Sighing, he straightened out his back and stretched out all the kinks. He turned around and froze, raising his eyebrows.

He tried not to grimace at the girl in front of him, _'Aniki never shows his emotions. But still, PINK hair? Ugh, what a girly colour. Blue's way cooler. Like Hi-'_

His thoughts were interrupted when the girl started to speak.

"A-Ano…Hi, my name's Haruno Sakura…I'm in your class at the Academy…"

He frowned at the way she looked at him; the same kind of eyes that pretty much every other girl on the planet gave him. He was tempted to completely ignore her existence, but…

He glanced at her, indigo blue replacing shocking pink.

It was the way she spoke, so timidly.

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke," he said without much enthusiasm. _'Might as well practice masking emotions.'_

For some reason, his simple answer excited the girl, Saku-something, and she gave him a 100 watt smile that made him wince at the brightness.

"You're really good at throwing shuriken!" she told him chirpily, "Do you think you could help me?"

'_Wait, was she spying on me?'_Sasuke frowned at her, but she didn't seem to notice, she was talking so much. Sasuke marveled at the complete 180 she had done, going from timid to exuberant in 5 seconds flat. He didn't feel so generous anymore…

He observed her, noting her casual clothes and what looked like a ribbon in her hand. His gaze reached upwards to the (_'distasteful'_) pink hair and (_'holy crap!_)-

"Your FOREHEAD!" Sasuke pretty much yelled, "It's HUGE!"

Needless to say he had forgotten his whole 'too-cool-for-emotions' act.

The girl stopped talking quite abruptly and he saw her green eyes well up with tears.

Blinking, he saw a flash of lavender-white before the return of glassy green and he felt an uncomfortable pang in his gut.

'_Is this feeling because I failed again, where Aniki would definitely have succeeded? Or is it because…'_

He looked at the crying girl again and winced at the pain.

She looked so insecure and small and familiar that it was like déjà vu, except the last time he was in this position; he couldn't do anything.

He thought of a different girl that he wished he could have comforted and sighed.

'_I couldn't do anything for her, but for this girl, I'll try to make up for my last failure.'_

He coughed awkwardly, "Hey listen. I-I think it's kinda cute, you know. Your forehead makes you…different from other girls…?"

'_Geeze, I have no idea what I'm doing…'_

But it seemed to work and the girl gave him a small smile through her tears and his uncomfortable pang went away. He forced a smile back at her, feeling decidedly uncomfortable and wanting to get away, but not wanting to make her cry again.

He tried to look around for an escape without alerting the girl to the fact that he wanted to escape.

'_Aniki! Where are you!'_

Suddenly he heard a call from heaven-

"Otouto!"

-or maybe it was just 3:15 and his brother was punctual as always.

"I have to go…" he paused, _'What was her name again?'_"I'll see you later Saku…" he trailed off unsurely, but the girl positively _beamed_, so he must have got it right.

He didn't stick around to find out though.

He hightailed it out of there.

* * *

Sakura swooned, a hand over her fast-beating heart.

'_He called me Saku! A nickname already!'_

She wanted to talk to him again already. Today, tomorrow, the day after that and forever, she wanted to be with him.

'_Is this what they call…love? B-But I can't! Ino-chan-'_

'_**Sure you can!'**_

'_Eh? Who are you?'_

'_**Just call me, Inner Sakura. Those girls that have beaten you down for so many years, the emotions that you pushed back because you were so afraid of them. Your anger, your jealousy, your need for revenge, I'm your darkest desire.'**_

'_That doesn't sound so good…'_

'_**Of course it does! Aren't you tired of always lying down, acting like a coward, a weakling. You're so pathetic, even Ino is only nice to you because she feels sorry for you. Without me, you're nothing. And Sasuke will never notice you.'**_

'_But Ino! And Sasuke…I'm not pathetic!'_

'_**Who are you trying to convince? Because you're not convincing me and you sure as hell aren't convincing yourself.'**_

'_I-I, I'm not going to listen to you!'_

'_**You keep telling yourself that, but we both know that you'll never win against me. You're too pathetic. So you can either keep fighting me –a worthless fight –or you can listen to me and we can get Sasuke-kun.'**_

'_Get Sasuke…kun?'_

'_**Get Sasuke-kun all to ourselves. All you have to do is listen to me.'**_

'_Just listen?'_

'_**Just listen. First thing: you have to decide. Ino or Sasuke-kun?'**_

'_B-But, I can't. Ino-chan or Sasuke-kun, I can't pick! Ino-chan is my first friend…'_

'_**But think of Sasuke-kun! He's so cute-'**_

'_Beautiful..'_

'_**And he thinks you're cute-'**_

'_He called me Saku…'_

'_**And he's so smart and good at everything-'**_

'_He's perfect!'_

'_**So can you do it? Let go of Ino for Sasuke-kun? Because he'll never take you seriously if you continue to hide in her shadow? Why would he want the quiet girl in the back when he can have the confident girl at the front? Can you break your friendship? For Sasuke-kun?'**_

'_Break my friendship? For Sasuke-kun?'_

'_**For Sasuke-kun.'**_

'_For Sasuke-kun…'_

'_**Can you do it?'**_

'_I…'_

Slowly, her fingers loosened and she held out her empty palm, face up.

Two halves of a once-beautiful ribbon were swept away by the wind, disappearing over the horizon.

When Sakura looked up, her green irises bloodshot from the tears she had cried, not five minutes ago, she could see a figure. It was like a mirror of herself; but black and white. It looked exactly like her, but braver and stronger. So why was she frightened of her own image?

The figure in front of her, copied her, lifting up an arm.

A black and white palm met her own peachy white.

'_**Good choice…'**_

* * *

**What the HELL!? How did this light-hearted story turn so creepy (in a très cheesy way) at the end? **

**I need feedback people!**

**Did I write Sakura okay? Or was I too hard on her and allow my hatred to seep in?**

**Was Pre-Masacre Sasuke-chan okay? Did my shameless SasuHina shipping ruin the story?**

**Was my portrayal of the birth and nature of Sakura too melodramatic? I mean, it _is_ a split personality...but then again, it's not particularly EVIL in the series...**

**As you can see, I definitely need another opinion here!**

**And do forgive me for not posting in a while. This chapter was supposed to be split into two parts (Sasuke and Sakura) but it was short and I thought you deserved a longer chapter as an apology, so I put them together and added the strange ending to tie it all together. I promise the next chapter will be longer still, as further apology!**

**So leave me a review!**

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


	8. The Blossoming of a Girl

**Ummm...sorry for the (super, super long) wait? Hehe ^__^'**

**I'm very sorry, I have troubles writing during school time. There are exams and homework and even if I have weekends, I usually end up leaving all of the week's homework until then, so I don't even have those. I guess the best time for me to write/update is during breaks after all... sighhh, stupid school *still annoyed at failure to reach desired grade point average***

**Plus there's the whole chapter issue I had. I had planned an Itachi chapter, but that turned out to be an epic fail. But I just didn't know when to give up, so I kept trying and trying and got like 1/8 of it done before I realized I had better come up with a different idea if I ever wanted to get an update up, and so this came to me in an insomnia-induced hallucination. Well actually, I got a Kiba plot bunny first and then this Ino one, but I felt it made more sense to put Ino first, as it will tie in quite nicely with the Sakura-chapter from, like, years ago.**

**This kind of didn't translate that well onto paper (or rather, microsoft word), but I hope that you can derive some form of pleasure by reading this…or not, but here's hoping.**

**Disclaimer: Just like every chapter before, Naruto is not mine. Neither is Microsoft Word, by the way, I just use it religiously.**

**Note: If you are somehow under the impression that all of these chapters take place in the same universe (Let's call it the Ah Youth-verse or Ay-verse, just for kicks), despite the fact that I have never explicitly stated this (not that I have explicitly said anything against it either, for that matter) then, chronologically, this story takes place **_**before**_** the ShikaHina chapter, because as you can clearly see, Shikamaru is still very much analytical in his thoughts, not too into metaphors or thinking that girls like being compared to flowers because it makes them feel **_**pretty**_**.**

**Let's GO!**

**----- **(Line thing's not working, clearly)

The Blossoming of a Girl

"Come on, Ino-chan, don't you want to help Daddy water the plants?" an exhausted Yamanaka Inoichi asked, swaying a watering can temptingly in front of his completely uninterested seven year old daughter.

Now, it's not that Inoichi was a supporter of child labor or anything like that, but running this quaint little flower shop all day was more tiring than it seemed and he knew it would only get harder as he grew older. This is why he was hoping that his daughter, Yamanaka Ino, would take on more responsibility at the shop as _she_ grew older, but it looked as though Ino wouldn't be having any of that.

Crossing her arms against her chest, Ino's face scrunched up in disgust. "Otou-saaan, this shirt is new and I don't want it to get dirty!"

Inoichi sighed. It was bad enough Shikaku and Chouza teased him about having a girl when they had both had boys, but it was just his luck that his little girl was just so…_girly._ She had absolutely no interest in anything but her appearance. This isn't to say that Ino was a total brat, but she was a bit self-centered, always primping in the mirror, trying to grow out her hair and wasting money on bows and ribbons and clips.

'_That's it, this stops now. I won't let my daughter become too superficial! …Besides, I really need help at the shop…Now how to get her interested…?'_

Inoichi plucked a flower from a vase, holding it out to his stubborn daughter. "Nee, Ino-chan, don't you think flowers are pretty?"

The use of the word 'pretty' definitely caught Ino's attention. She inspected the flower thoroughly before giving a sharp nod.

Inoichi smiled at the small sign of progress. "Then if you think they're pretty, don't you want to help them grow?" he asked, twirling the flower in this fingers.

Ino pursed her lips. "No, I don't care about anything like that!" she declared.

Inoichi's shoulders slumped, but he wouldn't give up, he would try another angle. And so, in trying to get his daughter to be interested in the family business, Inoichi uttered the phrase that would prove to dictate Ino's life, affecting her every decision and action.

"Ino-chan, flowers are like…girls; they start off as buds, but with some tender care they will bloom into beautiful flowers, like girls grow into beautiful women. Aiding in this process is a very noble thing to do."

Ino brushed off the latter part of her father's speech, completely ensnared by the beginning. "Bloom into a beautiful woman…," she whispered thoughtfully. She tilted her head to the side and said, "Okay."

Grinning, Inoichi refrained from dancing in joy.

Grabbing the flower out of her father's hand, Ino moved towards the vase he had taken it from. Ignoring her confused father, she plopped it back into the water and began to sort the flowers.

"I-Ino-chan?"

"I'll arrange the flowers; _you_ can do all the grimy, growing work."

Inoichi ducked his head down in defeat. _'Baby steps, Inoichi, baby steps'_

------

Ino frowned, annoyed with current circumstances. Her father had conned her into a 'play date' and then had run off abandoning her with two _boys_.

The three of them were currently sitting on a hill. The lazy-looking boy appeared to be napping while the heftier boy was snacking from a bag of chips. Ino bristled in repulsion and frowned.

'_This is soo boring!'_

Ino decided that playing with boys was nowhere near as fun as playing with girls, but if she was stuck here anyway, she might as well make the best of it.

"Hey you, lazy, get me a flower," she ordered, using her toughest voice. If her father was going to do this to her often, she would need to show these two who was boss and establish herself as leader from the very start.

The boy ignored her and Ino wondered if he really _was_ sleeping. She shook him roughly, just in case. "Hey, did you hear me, lazy?"

The boy's eyes slipped open and he shot her a half-hearted annoyed glare. "My name's Shikamaru, not _Lazy_," he drawled, sounding as bored as Ino felt.

"Well then _Shikamaru_," Ino sneered, "_My _name's Ino and _I _want _you_ to get me a flower!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but concluded that it would be better to do what she said so that she would shut up. He felt the ground beside him until he came across a plant-like figure. Yanking it out carelessly, he tossed it at the blonde.

"Watch it!" Ino cried, clumsily catching the dandelion. "This is a weed!" she yelled indignantly, "I want you to get me a flower from that tree!" She pointed it out for good measure.

Shikamaru had already gone back to his previous position. "Don't care, I'm too tired. Why don't you ask Chouji?" he said, gesturing vaguely to the other boy, who had been watching the exchange silently.

Ino ignored the shy smile from Chouji. _'I didn't ask him because I was afraid he'd break the tree'_ "It doesn't matter, I asked _you_, so you get it!"

"Why do you want it anyway?" Shikamaru asked, stalling.

Ino smiled narcissistically at the question, flipping her rather short blonde hair as well as she could. "Because it reminds me of…me!" she said, remembering her father's words from the other day.

At this, Shikamaru laughed, "Please, you, a flower?" He only laughed harder as Ino's face turned red from anger.

Dodging a swipe from the enraged girl, Shikamaru snorted. "See, you're vicious, trying to hit someone just because you're mad. You'd never be compared to a flower."

Ino froze, eyes widening. _'He…He's right! A delicate, beautiful flower would never be so rough! I'm…I'm ugly!'_

Eyes watering at this realization, she got up and ran.

Sobbing behind a tree, Ino was devastated. _'If I'm not a flower, then I'll never bloom into a beautiful woman. What would Otou-san think then? I…I don't want to be ugly like this.'_

"Hey," a voice called out softly. Ino jumped, moving to wipe away her tears, not wanting to be caught in such an _ugly_ state. She looked up and saw that it was the other boy, Chouji.

"W-What do _you_ want?" she asked, trying to hide the waver in her voice.

Chouji squirmed nervously, "Well, I just came to say sorry for Shikamaru-kun. When he said you're not like a flower, he didn't mean it in a bad way. The way Shikamaru-kun was probably thinking is that a flower is kinda weak and to us, you…you seem to be a really strong person. It's a good thing."

Ino frowned unconsciously. She knew that Chouji was only trying to make her feel better, but even if Shikamaru _had_ meant it that way, it didn't really do anything to cheer her up. She knew that they were going to be ninjas, just like their fathers, and that being called strong was the highest compliment a ninja could get, but she was a _girl_. First and foremost before any ninja-business, she was a _girl_ and she _wanted_ to be fragile and dainty and _pretty_, even if it made her a bad ninja.

And so she told him this, "But I don't _want_ to be strong if it means I can't be pretty like a flower."

Chouji became nervous at the liquid gathering in her eyes once more. "I'm sure you could still be like a flower…" he said unsurely, trying to pacify her.

"No," Ino wailed, "Otou-san said, before, that Lazy – I mean _Shikamaru_ – is a _genius_, like super smart! If he says I'll never be a flower, then it's true!"

"A-Ah, here!" Chouji was at a loss of what to say, so, desperate to get Ino to stop crying, he thrust a flower at her.

Ino blinked, "Huh? It's the one…from the tree. Did you get it for me?"

Chouji nodded, shyly. "You looked upset, so I climbed the tree and picked it for you."

Ino sniffed at the flower as her tears slowed, letting the sweet scent calm her. "Thank you," she whispered. _'Maybe boys aren't too bad…'_

Eyes finally dry, she looked sadly down at the blossom, "I had hoped I could be like this, but I guess I never will."

Chouji crouched down in front of her and tugged at one of the petals, easily breaking it off.

"Hey, watch it!" Ino scolded harshly, gathering the flower closer to her chest. Instead of recoiling at the return of her spit-fire nature, Chouji relaxed and smiled. "Flowers," he said, brushing the broken petal away from his fingers, "are weak. Ino-chan isn't weak, so she can't be a flower."

Ino wilted at those words, but perked up when he continued. "Maybe…Ino-chan can use her strength to protect the weak flowers instead," he reasoned, pointing to the blossom in her protective embrace.

Ino followed his gaze and examined the flower wonderingly. Rearranging the petals to make up for the absence of the one Chouji had pulled, Ino grinned. "You're right, Chouji. Thanks." He blushed and smiled back warmly.

'_Maybe, even if I can't be a flower myself, I can at least help them and make sure they blossom fully. Like Otou-san does at the shop. I think he said it was...noble. Maybe it won't be too bad, being noble instead of beautiful '_

_-------_

"Eh, Ino-chan?" Inoichi questioned as his daughter took the watering can out of his hands. "You're not going to arrange the flowers?"

Little Ino shrugged, carefully showering a tiny bud with water. Inoichi could only watch in wonder. "I thought you said you didn't want to do the grimy, growing work?"

Putting the watering can down, Ino leant onto the table and eyed the little bud almost enviously. "I decided that helping a bud blossom into a beautiful flower…that's the least I can do."

Inoichi smiled weakly. Although his goal had been ultimately been reached, he couldn't help feeling…bereft.

--------

Watching the rest of her class picking flowers happily, Ino felt a sting of jealousy. There were so many girls that she could identify as buds, steadily growing into gorgeous flowers and she wished that she could be one of them. Instead she was doomed to watch as they bloomed, stuck in the role of caretaker. Though Chouji had helped her come to terms with her position, she still longed to be a flower, no matter how impossible it was.

'_But I'm not one and I never will be…'_

Sighing, Ino continued to observe her classmates, having finished her own assignment within the first five minutes.

Bright blue-haired girl. _'Definitely a weed'_

White-eyed, blushing girl. _'She'll make a cute flower one day'_

Poufy, orange-haired girl. _'Another weed'_

Pink haired, green-eyed girl. _'Pink hair? An exotic flower…wait, what's this?'_

Ino's brows shot up as she saw three girls, two of whom she'd already deemed weeds, approach the pink flower-child. She couldn't hear them from where she was standing, but could guess that the words were anything but nice from their expressions.

She was planning on just looking away; it was none of her business, when she noticed the pink haired girl's reactions. She was shrinking into herself, like a bud that had gone without water too long.

'_This girl…she'll make a really pretty blossom one day, but not if she keeps getting teased like this. She needs some confidence. Otou-san said that a girl needs tender care to grow so maybe…maybe I can help out with more than just the shop…'_

Making up her mind, Ino grabbed her own bunch of flowers and headed over to the pink flower-child.

---------

"That bluebell sure is coming along, ne Ino-chan?" Inoichi commented from the cash register as his daughter went around and tended to each plant. Ino turned her head towards the window where a tiny blue flower rested in a pot all by itself and smiled gently. Although Ino took care of all the flowers properly, there was no denying that she paid special attention to that particular flower, it being the first one she had ever watered.

"It looks a bit lonely though," Inoichi thought out loud.

Ino stiffened, but quickly returned to the gardenias. "Don't be silly, Otou-san," she said.

--------

"What?" Ino exclaimed, blown away by the words from the pink flower-child that she had been tending to for weeks now.

"I'm breaking our friendship!" the girl, Sakura, declared.

"Friendship…?" Ino echoed dumbly. _'Were we ever friends? She was just a flower that needed help to blossom…right?'_

"I like Sasuke-kun too! So I'm breaking our friendship so that we can compete for him as equals. I'm not gonna be in your shadow anymore Ino!"

"Sasuke…kun?" Ino mimicked, still too shocked to string together a coherent sentence. She vaguely recalled mentioning that the boy was cute some days ago, but she had never imagined a reaction like this.

Ino looked at the girl before her, the so-called flower for whom she had been providing sunshine and water and tender care in hopes of seeing her bloom, in hopes of feeling accomplished and satisfied despite the fact that she, Ino, would never bloom herself. Instead of the flowering potential she had been seeing since the very first day they had met, Ino just saw a girl. A flushed, panting, defiant girl, a girl whose name was Sakura but who was definitely not the sweet, delicate cherry blossom Ino had thought she was.

'_I was wrong…Sakura, she isn't a flower at all…'_

Ino thought she would feel mad, angry that she had spent so much time cultivating what was certainly not a flower. But instead…

'_She's not weak, at least not anymore. She's strong now, she's…'_

Ino felt the corners of her lips curl into a grin.

'_She's just like…me'_

"Bring it on…_forehead_!"

Maybe it was a little selfish, but Ino felt a little less lonely, now that she wasn't the only non-flower.

Because even if it was fun and all, taking care of Sakura as if she were a fragile little blossom…Ino had a feeling that it would be a lot more fun to treat her as an equal…as a _friend_.

---------

"Otou-san, I can't stay today," Ino blurted out the moment she stepped into the shop, dropping her bag unceremoniously on the floor.

Inoichi barely managed to sound out a "Why?" as his daughter grabbed the potted bluebell and skipped outside.

"I have to meet some…friends," she told him once he had followed her outside. She was kneeling by a patch of wildflowers in the yard, busy replanting her prized bluebell beside a pink carnation of around the same size.

Inoichi was confused, was Ino really going leave her precious flower _outside_? "Ino-chan, is it really okay to leave it here?" he asked her.

Ino's fingers stilled and then she got up, brushing the dirt of her skirt. "Yeah, it is," she replied after a moment, "Even if it'll have to compete for sunlight and rain…I'm sure it'll grow bigger than it could alone in that pot. They'll take care of each other."

She turned and smiled at him, the brightest smile he'd seen from her in weeks. "Well, I gotta go!" she announced cheerfully rushing back into the shop, Inoichi close at her heels.

She collected some things from her previously abandoned bag before exiting the store with a quick "Bye" over her shoulder.

"Ah…was that a pillow? And _potato chips_?"

------

Inoichi finished watering the daffodils and put the can down. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he turned his attention to the empty windowsill and then to the scene outside the window itself. He smiled when he saw his daughter talking (arguing) energetically with her pink-haired friend.

Ino was still vain and slightly obsessed with her looks and she was still stubborn and more than a little bossy, but Inoichi could see a new light in his daughter's eyes. She worked at the store hours on end with no complaint and she did a good job too, bringing in new species and seeds, making their little shop grow. He'd even caught her skipping out on her nightly grooming (one hundred brushes thought each section of blonde hair) to study botanical journals! He'd seen her slowly befriend Shikaku's and Chouza's kids and though she still tended to boss them around, he had seen her show kindness and understanding for more than just the flowers in the shop.

Yes, however small her growth was, Inoichi could see that his little girl was maturing before his very eyes, even if she couldn't yet see it herself.

'_Ah, one day my Ino-chan will definitely bloom into the most beautiful flower of all'_

After all, living a life dedicated to taking care of something other than yourself, whether that something was as frivolous as flowers or as irreplaceable as friends, was a noble aspiration indeed and Ino was well along that path.

Outside, a bluebell and a carnation had grown bigger and more beautiful, their stems intertwined, each helping to hold the other up, sharing the sunlight and the rain equally; together.

-------

**So how was it? Was it as rough as I thought it was? Because let me tell you, this is version 4.0. Yes, there were 3 other even worse versions of this story that I had to keep ironing out to smooth away the horrible-ness of it all.**

**Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts, if you're not too ticked off by my uncalled for absence, though it would be nice if you still left a review despite any (well deserved on my part) anger.**

**Happy Holidays (Speaking of which, check out my series of the same name, if you're up to it),**

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


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